Early Orders of Lightning to 30-Pin Adapters Now Shipping

Apple’s iPhone 5 customers will soon be able to take advantage of their legacy 30-pin Dock Connector accessories as the company’s promised "Lightning to 30-Pin Adapters" have begun shipping, according toMacRumors.

While many are still awaiting their shipment notification, customers in Australia have been notified that their adapters are on the way, with a scheduled delivery date of Tuesday, October 9, and some customers in the United States have seen their order status change to “Processing.”

Apple used the launch of the iPhone 5 to transition its iDevice product line from the ubiquitous 30-Pin Dock Connector to the significantly smaller 9-pin “Lightning” connector. The Lightning connector offers several important advantages over the 30-Pin connector, but the change immediately made obsolete 30-Pin docks and accessories, including third party chargers, car connection kits, and home stereos.

To mitigate the impact of this change on its customers, Apple introduced two Lightning to 30-Pin Adapters: a direct adapter and one that includes a 0.2 meter (7.87 inch) extension. Priced at $29 and $39, repsectively, the adapters will allow iPhone 5 (and, soon, fifth generation iPod touch, seventh generation iPod nano, and iPad owners) the ability to use many legacy 30-Pin accessories with their new products.

It should be noted, however, that not all 30-Pin accessories will offer complete, if any, functionality with the adapters, including accessories that rely on an analog audio or control signal, which the “all digital” Lightning interface lacks.

It is unclear if the recent adapter shipments indicate that Apple is finally caught up on the manufacturing of the adapters, or if only those who ordered the adapters on day one will be receiving them shortly. Apple’s online store still lists the adapter’s availability for new purchases as simply “October.”